Satsang is a power trio led by songwriter Drew McManus, creating a unique blend of Soul, Folk-Rock and Hip-Hop. Satsang delivers lyrics that come from and are rooted in change, growth, awareness, and imperfection. The live show is everything that the band name suggests: a gathering of people to assimilate and share their truths. The rhythms put forth by the band keep the audience on their feet, and the lyrics leave them craving active and positive change. Satsang has toured across country and shared the stage with the likes of Michael Franti, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Trevor Hall, and many more.
New Kingston is a Progressive Reggae group whose members combine their Jamaican heritage with the urban sounds of their New York home, New Kingston are a family band consisting of brothers Tahir, Courtney Jr., and Stephen along with their father, Courtney Panton, Sr. A first-generation Jamaican-American, Courtney the elder was active in New York's reggae scene before turning his sons on to the music of their island heritage. Born out of jam sessions in the family's Brooklyn basement, the brothers began their career playing Bob Marley and Earth, Wind & Fire covers at parties and gatherings around the neighborhood. By 2010, they'd become focused on their own writing, which fused R&B, hip-hop, and dancehall with traditional reggae sounds. With each brother writing and offering vocals, Courtney Sr. filled in on bass. Following their self-released debut, In the Streets, New Kingston went on a European tour with rising reggae star Collie Buddz, playing a number of prominent festivals. Their sophomore LP, 2013's Kingston University, earned them a deal with New York label Easy Star Records, which issued their third LP, Kingston City, in early 2015. Boasting an increased production value and guest spots by the Tribal Seeds, The Wailing Souls, Sister Carol, and Sugar Minott, Kingston City raised the band's visibility considerably, topping Billboard's reggae chart upon its release. An EP, Kingston Fyah, arrived in the summer of 2016.
"Can I make it clear?" Lorely Rodriguez asks within the opening moments of her debut album, Me. If clarity is what she seeks, Lorely has found it: her voice upfront, every word audible and strong. Her singular voice is the centerpiece of Me, her first full-formed vision of an album, following her previously shorter and more abstract releases as Empress Of. "Don't tell me who I am," she sings seconds later.
On a cold January morning, Lorely sits at the kitchen table at her current sublet apartment, sifting through a composition book, pages of lyrics stained by coffee and cognac, shuffling through photo prints from the trip to Mexico where she wrote the initial sketches of the record. The album is filtered through imagery from this 5-week retreat, a lens through which Lorely looks both inward and outward, reflects and looks forward, finds strength and vulnerability.
Salt Cathedral is comprised of Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada. Influenced by tropical sounds and channeling the liveliness and dance culture of the pair's Colombian upbringing, their music combines elements of trip-hop and ambient genres with folkloric influences from many cultures--resulting in a new and unique brand of well-crafted and culturally relevant pop music. The duo has released three EPs, and six singles, including their most recent single "Rude Boy." They will release their debut full-length record in 2019. Not only have they garnered nearly twenty-five million streams on Spotify (including nearly 10 million for their single "Always There When I Need You") and thousands of fans from all over the world, their music has also been featured in prestigious music publications such as The Guardian, Pitchfork, FADER, VICE, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, and The Village Voice. They perform extensively with over two-hundred and fifty shows across the United States, Japan, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Colombia under their belt. They have shared the stage with fellow artists Hundred Waters (Skrillex's OWSLA), Christine and the Queens, Anna Wise (Kendrick Lamar), Jojo Mayer's NERVE, Tei Shi, Young and Sick, and Cibo Matto, amongst many others. Onstage, the band combines live instrumentals, electronics, and choreographed lighting to create an immersive environment of "crackling energy" (Pitchfork). Salt Cathedral's upcoming single is "Go and Get It" featuring Big Freedia and Jarina De Marco.
"To be SoDown is to seize every opportunity, explore new grounds, try new things and ultimately live the most epic life possible. This universe is far too beautiful and life is simply too short to not do what makes you happy. Unconditional love is the most powerful force in the world and Bass Music is my way of expressing it."
SoDown (Ehren River Wright) is a staple in the Colorado music scene. His first headline show was a huge success, selling out before doors. Thanks to a passionate fanbase, Ehren has quickly taken his music to a national stage, playing many festivals across the US. A SoDown set is not one to miss. Featuring live saxophone, Ehren takes the crowd on an intimate sensory adventure through space and time. His latest tracks include a wide array of musical talents, including his keen ear for sound design and production as well as his never ending dedication to organic instrumentation. Combining infinite influences, Ehren describes his music as an endlessly evolving medley of many different genres, culminating in a uniquely diverse style of bass music. 2018 has much promise, as SoDown continues to prove himself as one of the most dedicated and innovative acts in the game.
Local presale starts Thur Sept 13 at 10 am. General on sale starts Fri Sept 14 at 10 am.
Low. A band from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. Featuring Alan Sparhawk on vocals and guitar and Mimi Parker on vocals and drums and Steve Garrington on bass. Sparhawk and Parker are married with two children; they first met in fourth grade in rural Minnesota. Garrington is the latest addition to the band, longtime bassist Zak Sally previously replaced original bassist John Nichols and Sally departed the group after the release of Great Destroyer.
Low released its first album, I Could Live in Hope, in 1994 (producer by Kramer) on Vernon Yard Records. Pegged as "slowcore," due to the band's minimalist soundscapes and the beautiful harmonies of Sparhawk and Parker, which stood in stark contrast to the era's fascination with "grunge." Low continued to work with varied producers and released a constant stream of critically acclaimed albums (e.g., Long Division, Curtain Hits the Cast, Things We Lost in the Fire), one-offs, collaborations and other miscellany, including a classic Christmas album, aptly titled Low Christmas. Throughout, Low toured the world and eventually found themselves in the company of acts such as the Dirty Three, Radiohead and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Sparhawk has formed a few side projects, notably the dirty punk blues band, The Black Eyed Snakes and, most recently, the rock trio The Retribution Gospel Choir. Low's latest album, Drums and Guns (produced by Dave Fridmann), was released in 2007 on Sub Pop Records.
THE NO'S: No cameras, no recording devices, no outside food or beverage, pets, weapons, drugs, alcohol, or illegal substances. No stage diving, No crowd surfing. No refunds.
THE NO’S: No cameras, no recording devices, no outside food or beverage, pets, weapons, drugs, alcohol, or illegal substances. No stage diving, No crowd surfing. No refunds.
Hailed as one of the most vital standard-bearers of modern African music, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara is taking her artistry to fresh and thrilling heights. Boldly experimental yet respectful of her Malian roots, Fatoumata’s music defines her as the voice of young African womanhood – proud of her heritage but with a vision that looks confidently to the future. Her live performances “scream with energy” (NPR), her stage presence both “hypnotic” and “captivating” (Rolling Stone). Fatoumata’s most recent release, Fenfo, is a set of vivid and original new compositions that draw on the rich experiences and musical adventures she’s enjoyed in recent years. A modern day storyteller, Fatoumata covers such timeless subjects as respect, humility, love, migration, family and how to build a better world for our children in her music. “Don’t sing just to sing,” she emphasizes, “sing to change things, to make things better.”
As a singer, actress, songwriter, and activist, Fatoumata has shared her message and experience with audiences all over the world. With performances at Glastonbury and other major festivals, Fatoumata has also worked with some of the biggest names in contemporary music. She recorded with Bobby Womack and Herbie Hancock; assembled a West African super-group featuring Amadou and Mariam, Oumou Sangaré, and Toumani Diabaté to record a song calling for peace in her troubled homeland; climbed aboard Damon Albarn’s star-studded Africa Express, which culminated in her sharing a stage with Sir Paul McCartney; and performed with countless other esteemed musicians such as Omara Portuondo, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Habib Koité, Roberto Fonseca, and Rokia Traoré. In fact, it was fellow Malian songstress Rokia Traoré who encouraged Fatoumata to pick up a guitar, a suggestion that opened the door to her career in music.
Inspiration and enjoyment comes from: flowers, teeth, moths, "teen angst," Joanna Newsom, bruises, fruit, Andrew Bird, reflections in water, empty fields, big boots, Sleater Kinney, and existentialism.
Sunbathe is the devastatingly catchy, fuzzed-out pop band brought to you by songwriter Maggie May Morris. Suffused with lyrical honesty and a raw performance style, Morris can command the stage coasting along on an abundance of hooks and lighthearted guitar. Backed by an all-star band of Pieter Hilton and Shannon Steele (Typhoon), Sunbathe has quickly gained notoriety for their captivating live performances. The self-titled debut from Sunbathe shows the many sides of Morris' songwriting abilities yet maintains a cohesive structure through it's radiantly pop-minded arrangements and with another release on the horizon in 2018, Sunbathe proves to be one of today's most promising acts.
Welcome to a unique and immersive poetry event that takes poetry outside classrooms and lecture halls and places it in the lush interiors of a bordello. The Madame presents a rotating cast of poets, each operating within a carefully crafted character, who share their work in public readings, spontaneous eruptions of poetry, and most distinctly, as purveyors of private poetry readings on beds, chaise lounges and in private rooms. For a fee, all of the poets are available for these sequestered readings at any time during the event. Of course, any true bordello need a good cover; ours is an immersive cabaret featuring poetry, burlesque, live music, vaudeville, aerials, visual art, magic, and mysticism, with newly integrated themes, performances and installations at each event.
Doors open at 8pm, and the show begins promptly at 8:30pm. As usual the festivities will be presided over by your hosts Mister Charley, The Madame, and that rapscallion, Tennessee Pink. For more information, including featured performers and thematic details, please visit thepoetrybrothel.com. Costumes and/or cocktail attire are encouraged but not required. The Poetry Brothel staged show will wrap up around 11:30pm, but feel free to stay on for a free dance party, where the poets and mystics will continue to be available for private readings.
*VIP Admission
Includes reserved priority seating, a surprise gift, and two premium private reading tokens good for readings with any of the poetry whores, the featured readers for the night, and/or The Madame or Tennessee Pink, creators of The Poetry Brothel
AWP Attendees
Ticket holders must show their AWP Conference badges at the box office to collect these half-price tickets
Home. Where the heart is. For Bombino and most other Tuareg, there’s only one place that can be. In recent years, the rest of the world has largely written off that home as a hot and savage wasteland, a bolt hole for religious extremists and terrorists, a geopolitical video nasty with little to offer apart from the oil, gold and phosphates that lie beneath its soil. But Bombino would like us to take a closer look and think again. His feelings are beautifully summed up in the song “Tehigren” (‘Trees’), from his brand new album ‘Deran’: ‘Do not forget the green trees / In our valleys in the Sahara / In the shade of which, / Rest the beautiful girls / Radiant and lovable’. How to celebrate that desert home, how to protect it, develop it, unify it, respect it and, above all, never forget it, are the salient themes of ‘Deran.’ They’re dressed up in ten songs of rare maturity and power that mark a turning point in the career of a guitarist and songwriter who was born in the shade of an acacia tree about eighty miles north west of the ancient town of Agadez, and has since risen to forefront of the new Tuareg guitar generation. It’s a turning back the source of everything that makes Bombino who he is. “My mission for this album was always to get closer to Africa,” he says. Not surprising then that the decision was made to record ‘Deran’ as close as possible to his native Niger in the southern Sahara. The ideal venue emerged in the shape of Studio Hiba, a top flight recording facility owned by King Mohammed VI (he loves his tunes, apparently) located in a fairly drab industrial suburb of Casablanca in Morocco. There Bombino and his steady longterm band - fellow Tuareg Illias Mohammed on guitar and vocals, American Corey Wilhelm on drums and percussion and the Mauritanian (living in Belgium) Youba Dia on bass - slept, ate and made music in blissful isolation. Their circle was widened by Moroccan percussionist Hassan Krifa, and by Bombino’s cousins Anana ag Haroun (lead singer of the Brussels-based Tuareg band Kel Assouf), and Toulou Kiki (singer and star of the film Timbuktu), who dropped in to add some ‘gang’ vocals. After Casablanca, the tapes flew to Boston to be embellished by Sudanese friend and keyboardist Mohammed Araki.
Image credit on ticket link: David Pinsoy via Unsplash
Mother Foucault's Presents The Bookseller's Ball!
A raucous party featuring visiting writers with new books from national independent presses (McSweeney's, Third Man Books, Wave Poetry, and others), along with beloved local authors and popular NW bands (Power of County, The Savage Family Band, Ex-Kids, Morgan and the Organ Donors, and Bergerette).
Come celebrate the last night of AWP 2019 at Portland's historic Star Theater: Saturday, March 30, 5pm-2am, and dance the night away with DJ Cecilia after our roster of readers, rock, and shenanigans have properly entertained you.
For the complete list of performers, sponsors and stage times, please check: www.motherfoucaultsbookshop.com
The event is free and open to the public.
Five dollar cover for late night band and dance party is at 10 pm.
